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ANC’s Elections
Head Nomvula Mokonyane has claimed that the party has spent about R1bn on its
local government election campaign. This is a startling figure which should
shake us out of our complacency about the funding of political parties
generally and campaign finance particularly. The DA is reported to be spending
R350m whilst the EFF says it has spent no more than R10m. However, the true
cost of these elections may well be much higher than what has been disclosed.

Political parties
that have representation in national or provincial legislatures receive funding
from the public purse under the Public Funding of Represented Political Parties
Act 1997 in a process managed by the Electoral Commission (IEC). In 2015 a
total of 15 parties received funding of R121.5m in terms of a formula
(which is 90% proportional and 10% equitable) based on the parties’ performance
in the 2014 national and provincial elections. The ANC received R72.1m, the DA
R26.3m and the EFF R9.8m. The other 12 parties shared R13.3m.

In addition to
this public funding, political parties can seek to raise funds from private
sources be it members, supporters, companies and other local or foreign donors.
Funds raised in this way remain unregulated and secret despite legal challenges
seeking to get parties to open their financial records.

Using resources to benefit parties

The nexus between
private funding of political parties and corruption, and the proliferation of
tenderpreneurs cannot be ignored. Voters should also have full access to information
about political parties, including who funds them, in order to meaningfully
exercise the right to vote.

In the run up to
elections, whether they be municipal, provincial or national, there is a
tendency by parties in power, and who have control over state resources, to
seek to use these resources in a way that benefits their parties or candidates.
Just look at the full page and double page adverts in the weekend’s papers. Although
the use of funds may appear to be in accordance with a legitimate government
function, the timing and manner of the spending raises questions about its true
intent.

We have seen how governing parties use their advertising and other budgets to highlight their achievements in office and to make other blatantly political statements that seek to sway voters. The political messaging on a pair of over-sized sunglasses masquerading as an art installation on the promenade in Cape Town does exactly that. These advantages of incumbency that accrue to parties in power create an unfair political playing field.

How to make crap art even worse. Turn it into an anti-ANC statement. Who pays for this ad disguised as public art? pic.twitter.com/zczbuzpTiS

An ANC and
Umkhonto weSizwe veteran, Dumisani Mafu, recently passed away in the Eastern
Cape and was awarded a Provincial Official Funeral, Category 2, by the
President after receiving a request from the Provincial Premier. Such Official
Funerals are usually accorded to the Deputy Speaker of the Provincial
Legislature, while Category 1 funerals are for the Speaker and MEC’s.

Yet Mr Mafu,
despite his heroic role in the liberation struggle, did not hold any senior
political office and would not ordinarily qualify for a state-funded funeral.
It is only proper that he should have received a fitting farewell that
acknowledged his sterling contribution to our liberation. But should the state
have paid for it? Where is the line to be drawn?

News reports of
the funeral together with what can be gleaned from the funeral programme
suggest that it was a party political affair. The decoration of the venue and
the content of the programme leave little doubt of this. A report in the Daily
Dispatch on 25 July states that “ANC treasurer-general Dr Zweli Mkhize asked
thousands of party supporters to ensure the ANC won the upcoming elections to
honour its first Eastern Cape provincial chairman Dumisani “Mazolo” Mafu who
was buried at the weekend”. State funds were used for a private funeral that
took on the character of a political rally.

Strive for free and fair elections

Such practices
raise the necessity for a review of the policy approach to dealing with funding
of events like this, media advertisements, disbursing of state aid (food
parcels, emergency relief, hand- over of houses etc.) by politicians during
election campaigns. This is not to suggest that government should cease to
provide services when elections are looming but perhaps that it be done by
civil servants rather than politicians, under the gaze of the IEC and civil
society observers. Such regulations would be in place for the duration of an
election campaign which is deemed to commence when the election date is
promulgated.

The time to begin
such a review to strengthen the Electoral Code of Conduct would be shortly
after these local government elections so that it can be finalised well before
the 2019 general election. We must continuously strive to ensure the freeness
and fairness of our elections.

In the meantime voters
should consider where parties received their private funding, and what
conditions may be attached to such funding when exercising their right to vote
on Wednesday.

- Find everything you need to know about the 2016 Local Government Elections at our News24 Elections site,
including the latest news and detailed, interactive maps for how South
Africa has voted over the past 3 elections, or download the app for iOS and Android.

Disclaimer:News24 encourages freedom of
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